For getting in at 5am I actually got a really good night’s sleep. After 4 days of hard partying everyone was knackered so slept really late. I’ve definitely discovered that I’m more of a get up and go person than anyone else on this island. After breakfast at 2pm, I asked if anyone was up for a walk out to a view point, to which the only response I received was “hummph..”
I’ve found that whenever I commit to going off on my own to explore something, I always find something cool. On this occasion I thought I’d go for a walk out on the peninsular of land from my hostel in Haad Rin. The app I was using to navigate, Maps.me, said the was a viewpoint up there, good for sunset I figured.
It was a more significant walk up there than flip flops really could handle but I was almost there so carried on. They were slipping on the loose earth of some sort of access road up to what looked like a mobile phone mast. Following the sketchy map track, I got to the top, absolutely drenched in sweat. Here I found that the cell tower was actually just a look out platform that anyone brave enough could climb. And, even being a climber, I had to suck up no small amount of fear to climb this thing. I’m glad I’m an engineer sometimes because at least I could say for definite that the structure was solid, which helped. It stood about 5 or 6 stories tall on top of the mountain at the end of the peninsular. You got an amazing view at ground level which made it feel seriously exposed climbing up as there was just nothing around you. Nothing indeed, as there were no guard rails or safety clip points (not that I had my harness with me, it was in the hostel) there were no barriers or equipment needed, and being on my own I probably shouldn’t have climbed it, lest something terrible happen.
But, confident in my climbing ability, up the ladders I went. I could feel the adrenaline surging through my veins. All concentration was on methodical, safe, one limb at a time movements. When in these sorts of climbing situations you get into “The Zone”. I’ve not solo’ed many climbs but when all else leaves your mind except the movements and the next hold, you are in the zone. It’s a calm state of being where you can feel every part of your body and also none of it as you are so focused on what is happening. Each of the 3 wobbly ladders took me up about 2 stories to a platform, with no sides. You could happily walk straight off the edge and into oblivion so these rests didn’t offer any more security. Only the top deck with decent hand rails and mesh flooring allowed me to come down off the adrenalin high I was riding.
I’ve taken so many photos at the top because when I got there I was shaking, with excitement and fear, the photos are all blurry. After I had calmed down a bit, I really enjoyed the view. You got a 360 panoramic view of Haad Rin and its 3 beaches, with the mountains behind and the coast stretching off in the distance to the ferry port. It was so peaceful just watching the boats chugging along. Also a bit strange to see from above what had been our party playground as a small fishing village.
The sunset was very good. Gold streams of light poured from the sky and once again I cursed not having a camera that could do it justice. But I wasn’t going to hang around for long. I had the climb down to do and then some bushwhacking to get back to the main track. I didn’t fancy doing any of it barefoot so I just concentrated on not losing my sandals. The climb down was just as exhilarating because you had to go backwards over the edge of each ledge. What an amazing high I was on and there were no illicit substances in sight and I wasn’t chemically risking my health, just, physically… That is better right?
When I got back to the hostel a few more people had emerged and just sat nursing themselves watching Guardians Of The Galaxy. This reinforced my happiness about not drinking so much, I actually got to experience something incredible. But I was really tired now, so joined in some Netflix and Chill.